


Eternal Garden

by zerowrites



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Not K-Pop Idols, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hanahaki Disease, K-Pop - Freeform, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-29
Updated: 2020-02-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:48:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22459771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zerowrites/pseuds/zerowrites
Summary: A twisted world in which a percentage of the population suffers from a disease that could only be product of some fantastic story - that's the world this story's protagonist lives in.What seems to be very far suddenly becomes a close threat with the arrival of a kind neighbour that makes Nickie's world turn upside down, starting an internal fight between her feelings and her bad memories.*Translated from the Spanish version, Jardín Eterno.*01/20/2020. © All rights reserved. Updates can also be found on Tumblr (zerowritesthings).
Relationships: Choi San/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 2





	1. introduction.

A dark world, above all.

A world in which there’s a persistent fear, a world in which cemeteries are partly covered in vibrant-coloured flowers that seemed to never die – a world in which warped love reigns.

That’s the world Nickie Lawrence finds herself in and that she despises so much, going as far as take to heart the promise to not fall in love after the tragedy that befell her family. Every two weeks she shares her bed with someone she meets at the different bars she visits, convincing herself that’s what makes her feel full and satiated, but she knows there’s something else inside her that’s fighting to get out: the desire to feel loved and love back.

The fear gets stronger when she meets her new neighbour, who doesn’t get her attention at first but then she realizes she thinks about him more often than she’d like. Her focus goes straight to repress her feelings any way she can, but she realizes that fate’s already written when the first petal escapes from her lips only weeks after meeting him.

That way, the story kicks off Nickie’s fight against the growing influence of San Choi on her life and the inevitable ending that awaits her with the hanahaki in her body.


	2. 1

\- So, do you want to do something tomorrow?

It was a question Nickie faced almost every day, and truth be told it was the least pleasant thing to hear. Lying on a bed that was far from even being like hers and in a room that seemed to had left its golden years behind, she placed her hands behind her head – the sheets covered her up to her chin, which left her nude body protected against the room’s coldness. She barely turned her head to the side and her eyes met her companion’s, George, a good-looking and cheerful guy that she had met the past night at a bar. “ _Could’ve been a good match_ ,” she thought while sometimes lamenting the crucial decision she had taken but also knowing it was the best she could do.

\- I don’t really care if we do, - she replied dryly without taking her eyes off the guy’s green ones. – I’ve already told you I don’t… have time to go out at all. Work’s got me tired.

\- But you do have time for this? – He asked, his tone a bit more hurt than she would’ve expected, which surprised her. – Look, you’re a great girl and I guess we can get around knowing each other a bit more, don’t you think?

It wasn’t the first time someone she spent the night with reproached her acting like that and she was almost 100% sure it wouldn’t be the last, but she wouldn’t take the chance to stay and find out or worst, to do something bad to the other person. She knew very well what could happen in case she let go, and nothing would’ve seemed more aberrant and horrible than going through that.

\- I’ll call you in the afternoon if I change my mind, - she said, moving the sheets to the side to sit on the mattress; she reached out to the bedside table on her side and got a small hairpin that she held between her lips as she brushed through her hair with her hands. She put the accessory in a way so that her fringe didn’t move and finally got up from bed, letting out a little sigh while she looked for the clothes that had been left scattered around the room amidst the heat of the night.

Her walk to the bathroom was heavy and she could hear George panting lightly and moving around in bed but she wouldn’t turn around and try to convince herself otherwise; once she was alone at last, she turned on the shower in the highest possible temperature that didn’t burn her skin and quickly got in, the steam engulfing her and making her muscles feel more relaxed almost immediately, but she knew the sensation would pass as soon as she left the water stream. She wasn’t sure however about the tiredness that occupied her mind at the moment, just like many other times that she had been in that same situation and couldn’t understand why she still didn’t seem to get used to the lifestyle after so many months she’d spent living like that.

She also felt bad about only having men’s shampoo at hand, since one specific brand had left her scalp feeling irritated – she laughed for a moment before taking the soap and slowly rubbing it along her shape, taking a bit longer to massage her thighs and hips, places she knew could get numb quicker due to the use she’d always give them. She was thankful for it being a Saturday morning since she’d have time to relax and rest for the day, but she wasn’t sure if she didn’t have to go somewhere to buy office supplies.

She washed off the rest of the conditioner and soap off her body and carefully exited the shower, only remembering she didn’t bring a towel after she was done; she was lucky enough to find a robe made out of towel as well, and she did all she could to avoid thinking about the strange onion smell that came out of certain parts of the item. It only took her ten more minutes to finish changing and fixing her look as much as possible, and after she came out of the room for the last time she saw her host had fallen back asleep with his face half-buried on the pillow and his naked back facing the ceiling, baring the many scratches and bites she had caused – it wasn’t the first time she was tempted to stay either, but she always repressed the impulse and made herself walk out.

For a moment, she admired the few but diverse pictures that decorated the apartment walls, some of the boy during vacations, some with friends and a specific one with a child that made her wonder if that was his son due the similarities they shared. She smiled to herself and kept going, not stopping for anything. She took the keys to the main door from a little bowl next to it, opened it and then closed it behind her, feeling the cold from the hallway slipping towards her legs and embracing her a little more with each step she took while she ran from last night’s memories, wondering what would come next.

While waiting for the elevator, her phone vibrated in her pocket, and she took it with curiosity as to who it could be at 8 AM on a Saturday, though it quickly faded: it was her father. With a growing knot in her throat she put a finger on the screen, rejecting the call almost without a doubt.

She wouldn’t turn back for anyone in the world.


	3. 2.

She wasn’t even close to being someone who stood out in a crowd even if she wanted to.

Nicole Lawrence, Nickie for her friends and family, was a 22 year-old girl from Seattle who had dreams she’d never tell anyone. She kept to herself without harbouring any attention because she wanted to, but she knew how to make people she wanted to wrap around her finger whenever she gave the word – however, she never took advantage of this, opting to lead a tranquil life in the city while she gathered enough money to continue her studying.

She had located in a small apartment in Arlington, Jacksonville FL, and she worked close to home, in an insurance office in which she was tasked with everything being in order and correctly categorized; it wasn’t an ideal job but at least it allowed her to pay rent and eat properly, and to her it was more than enough as long as her job didn’t interfere with her private life. Her co-workers weren’t more than that even if some of them had tried to cross that line before, and Nickie always preferred to stay away so that the work environment could be relaxed and calm, without any tensions.

Even if she wasn’t a teenager anymore, she couldn’t help but feel like one at certain points of her life, just like when she got out of some of her one-night stands’ home or when she took pictures with little to no clothing to then send them or just admire herself, filling her mind with confidence that she knew would disappear just as fast as it came. Many would’ve said she didn’t love herself enough to get out of the vicious cycle she alone had created, but in reality that was far, far from the truth, beginning only six years ago.

Those were the starts of a cold spring and Nicole had recently turned 16 when the news surged about a strange disease that had begun in Japan, called ‘hanahaki’ due to the weird symptoms it carried: in the lungs of whoever had it, little bushed of differently coloured flowers would begin to bloom which petals would then be expulsed by the host through coughing or vomiting. It had taken doctors a long time to pinpoint the reason of the whole situation due to the few cases that had been documented so far, but as days went by more and more people around the world started to have those symptoms with various degrees of danger. By then, it was estimated that 6% of the global population had the pathology.

Later that same April, Nickie’s father left her family behind without notice, abandoning her and her mother, and leaving her with a few debts that the teenager had to bear on her back to pay back.

It was then that Nickie realized what really was the cause of the outbreak – her mother became more and more shut-in, occasionally turning to alcohol, and by night she could hear her crying and violently coughing in her room without even being able to think of something to make her feel better. One morning, as she was leaving for school, her mother didn’t reply when Nickie knocked at her door to say goodbye which led her to think she was sleeping; a strong aroma, that would later be identified as petunias, left her room but she didn’t think much of it before going her merry way.

Her mother had passed away on a bed covered by flowers, apparently without having felt any pain.

The depression that the situation carried upon Nicole the following years hadn’t been easy after that, but she was beyond thankful she could count on her aunt’s side of the family to overcome everything that inevitably fell on her. She sold the house once she was able to and was able to pay off her high school debts, wearing a hairpiece in her mom’s favourite colour for graduation, and then started studying to become an English teacher, something she was deeply interested in. She dedicated every free moment to find out even more about the strange disease that had taken the most important from her, and when she was 19 and finally knew that the true cause of it all was falling out of love and that now it was possible to remove the roots from the lungs with careful surgeries, she felt defeated but happy.

She was surprised to realize that what would be harder from now on would be to fall in love, because now she felt panicked when faced with just the prospect of giving her whole self to someone who, without wanting it, could kill her. It was on her own account that she then decided to never go through that and focus on other aspects of her life, finishing her studies and be a true professional before looking for someone who could either be the love of her life or her last breath. She knew she had the chance to have it removed, but for her it was preferable to avoid it at all costs.

But her body was human and with needs beyond the sentimental ones, and soon just playing with herself wasn’t enough. She started to look for toys through the different sex shops in town and got around to buy at least two before feeling curious about how the real deal would feel, someone else’s warmth above hers, other hands playing with her sensations and not really knowing what she wanted and trying to figure it out as they went along.

That way, with fear but determined to make it work, that same weekend she walked a bit of the main avenue before coming across a bar she had never gone to before. Taking a big breath she opened the door, the noise from the inside and the slight smell of beer filling her senses almost immediately. She sat on the bar and downed two bottles of Stella Artois before a third closed one got to her from the right, and when she dizzily looked up she found with the most delightful honey-coloured eyes she had ever seen to date. She knew then that she had found what she was looking for, and in her slightly inebriated state she didn’t hesitate to get closer to the stranger.

She really lamented not remembering much about that night, but it was enough to remember she felt physically and emotionally full, and she wasn’t too keen on remembering the name of the boy that she’d brought home; the only thing he had left behind was a simple note thanking her for what had happened, letting her know he had used her shower and leaving his number in case she wanted to see him again, but Nicole just threw it away and moved forward, already planning her next date.

-

Nobody expects little movement on Saturday mornings in a city that usually flows with life from every single one of its corners, but to her surprise the place was strangely quiet, though not completely. The sidewalks were empty enough to walk down them with ease, and even if she didn’t want to admit it at first she felt a bit uneasy, as if something was going to happen. Looking at both sides of the street, Nickie pulled her phone out again, discarding the notifications that told her she had two new voicemails, and she opened the GPS app to know exactly how far she was from home.

It was at least a thirty-minute walk, but it was enough to stretch her muscles that were still half asleep; she was able to buy a caramel latte on the way, the sugar helping her mood. It had been a long night and she was waiting to get to her apartment and go straight to her bed, missing the feeling of her soft covers that always made her feel as if she was flying.

She was able to see her block from afar, her building standing out between those around it due to its old-looking and somewhat decaying façade, but still every part of it made the word ‘home’ come up in her mind along with warmth in her chest; she remembered hating that place when she moved in, but with time she learnt to see the good things along with the nice neighbours that she found. It was as if, beyond having gotten there by luck alone, there was something else pushing her towards there anyway.

Even so, the place was always full of surprises.

As she got to the main glass doors she started to look for her keys on her bag and when she didn’t find them right away she looked inside without stopping, completely disregarding what was in front of her and making her body slam against someone else, stumbling backwards and letting out a little whine – she would’ve fallen on her behind had it not been for the firm yet gentle hand that held her arm and avoided her fall, bringing her forward and helping her get back on her two feet. Nickie looked down to make sure nothing had been left on the ground in the process and after checking nothing bad had happened either the stranger backed away a bit, something she was thankful for.

\- I’m so sorry! – a soft, masculine voice told her, and it was then that she finally looked up to see who was in front of her. – I was distracted with my phone and didn’t see where I was going, I’m really sorry.

It was an Asian boy, just a little bit taller than her but that looked younger, dressed with a black and white sports suit and just one earpod in his left ear; his hair was also black except for a grey tuft that covered the left side of his forehead and his contexture seemed like that of someone who exercised regularly. It was someone Nicole had never seen before, and his English was good but still felt a bit shaky, which was endearing to her. He also came from her own building, which left her puzzled.

\- Don’t worry, - she said with a smile after a moment, grabbing her bag with her keys in hand. – You weren’t the only one thinking about something else; there’s no problem.

She went around the boy quickly and went to open the door when his voice called out to her from behind. – Hey, do you live here? – Without turning around, Nicole bit her lower lip and tried with all her might to supress the need to reply sarcastically to that question. Once she was able to do so, she looked at the boy and nodded. – Great! – The gleeful stranger came closer once more but still keeping a fair distance, something she liked. He reached his hand to her and waited for her to take it, softly squeezing it as he greeted her. – I moved here yesterday afternoon, to the 502. My name is San, nice to meet you.

 _San_ , she repeated in her mind. She’d definitely remember him. – Nice to meet you, I’m Nicole. I live in 304, in case you ever need something. – He hadn’t come across as someone dangerous but she still wanted to be cautious; there would be nothing bad in taking precautions, she told herself, and the boy finally went away but not without smiling at her, his cheeks revealing two little dimples on the corners of his lips.

Nickie watched as he begun to jog, and she entered the building with a strange feeling in her gut.


End file.
